Bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A reeved bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus is disclosed. The assembly includes a clamshell-type bucket to which is secured hold cables fixed to diagonally opposite end portions of the top region of the bucket. The hold cables are reeved over sheaves supported by an elongated mounting arm secured at an acute angle to the underside of a main trolley. The trolley is provided with mounting means for arranging it on a boom member or the like for longitudinal movement therealong. The acute angle of the mounting arm, the longitudinal axis of which extends laterally of the trolley, is measured from the front side thereof which faces the trolley, the rear side of the arm facing the bucket. Support means are provided for supporting the mounting arm to the trolley for selective rotation about the transverse axis thereof. The hold sheaves are supported by frames which are rotatable with respect to the mounting arm about axes extending laterally, with respect to the arm. The mounting arm, the means for rotatably supporting the arm on the trolley, and the sheave carrying frames are constructed and arranged such that when the mounting arm is rotated the bucket will rotate without tilting while the hold sheaves remain in fixed planes with respect to the bucket. Close sheaves supported by the mounting arm and close cables reeved over the sheaves and connected directly to the bucket are also provided.

United States Patent Briggs Oct. 23, 1973 BUCKET ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN A MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS [75] Inventor: Aubrey C. Briggs, Carnegie, Pa.

[73] Assigneei Dravo corporation,Pittsburgh, Pa.

221 Filed: May 18,1972

21 Appl.No.:254,399

[52] US. Cl. 212/81 [51] Int. Cl A47g 29/00 [58] Field of Search 212/81, 127, 128, 212/84, 56, 63, 24, 27, 84

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,896,795 7/1959 Kersting; 212/81 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,027,857 4/1958 Germany 212/81 Primary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka Attorney-Paul Bogdon [57] ABSTRACT A reeved bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus is disclosed. The assembly includes a clamshell-type bucket to which is secured hold cables fixed to diagonally opposite end portions of the top region of the bucket. The hold cables are reeved over sheaves supported by an elongated mounting arm secured at an acute angle to the underside of a main trolley. The trolley is provided with mounting means for arranging it on a boom member or the like for longitudinal movement therealong. The acute angle of the mounting arm, the longitudinal axis of which extends laterally of the trolley, is measured from the front side thereof which faces the trolley, the rear side of the arm facing the bucket. Support means are provided for supporting the mounting arm to the trolley for selective rotation about the transverse axis thereof. The hold sheaves are supported by frames which are rotatable with respect to the mounting arm about axes extending laterally, with respect to the arm. The mounting arm, the means for rotatably supporting the arm on the trolley, and the sheave carrying frames are constructed and arranged such that when the mounting arm is rotated the bucket will rotate without tilting while the hold sheaves remain in fixed planes with respect to the bucket. Close sheaves supported by the mounting arm and close cables reeved over the sheaves and connected directly to the bucket are also provided.

16 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENIEBum 23 ran SHEET 10F 3 PAIENIEDICI 23 I978 SHEET 2 OF 3 afrsfioso "Will BUCKET ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN A MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS This invention relates to a bucket assembly, as for example a clamshell-type bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus such as a ship unloader, one type of which assembly is known as a direct reeved bucket assembly, that is, an assembly wherein the hold and close cables each have one end directly connected to the bucket, and particularly to a bucket assembly incorporating a unique turning device for the bucket.

One type of bucket reeving arrangement for use with a clamshell-type bucket for a ship unloader is what is commonly called a direct bucket arrangement. in the direct reeved bucket arrangement the hold and close cables, that is, the cables used to support the weight of the bucket and to open and close the bucket, respectively, each have one of their ends attached directly to the bucket. The other type of bucket arrangement is the in-bight-of-line arrangement where the hold and close cables are reeved around pulleys or sheaves supported in the bucket.

One common requirement for both direct reeved inbight-of-line bucket arrangements as used with a ship unloader is for the bucket to have the capability of being rotated 90 so that thebucket may be easily moved into the covered parts of the ships hold. One early method used to meet the 90 rotation requirement was to use removable buckets, one being orientated 90 from the other. Thus, when it was necessary to get within the covered area of the ships hold, the bucket being used previously was removed from the unloader and replaced with the bucket structured to open in a direction 90 relative to the first bucket. Such a method was undesirable since it required two buckets as well as necessitating considerable time for effecting the changeover of the buckets.

A later development for rotating the direct reeved buckets permitted the use of a single bucket which was rotated by shifting the position of the hold cable sheaves supported by a trolley arranged to travel along a boom or the like. Moving one hold cable sheave in one direction while moving the other in an opposite direction results in a rotation of the bucket. The early sheaveshifting arrangements moved the sheaves along essentially the same plane which resulted in one hold cable playing out while the other was taken up with the consequent tilting of the bucket as it was rotated. Systems at the cable control drums were devised for compensating for the change in lengths of the hold cables so as to avoid the tilting of the bucket. Such compensa tion systems were complicated and expensive.

Another design for avoiding bucket tilting while shifting the hold cable sheaves is to shift the sheaves on the trolley along oppositely directed inclined planes. Thus, one sheave is arranged to move in one direction up an inclined plane while the other sheave is moved in the opposite direction down an inclined plane. Thus, in one instance the cable which would be played-out if the sheave were moved along a plane parallel to the trolley remains at the same length since the sheave moves down that cable while the sheave moving in the opposite direction moves up the hold cable enabling it to remain at the same length. The inclined plane arrangement works successfully but has certain structural disadvantages. Notably among those disadvantages is the need for a heavy duty shifting mechanism for urging the sheave assemblies along the surfaces of the inclined planes. Also, there is a need for constant surveillance of the surface of the inclined planes to insure that they are always sufficiently lubricated so that the sheaves may slide on them without excessive friction. In addition, the hold cables must be carefully selected so that they are strong enough to carry a full bucket load together with a friction load that is caused by cables sliding along the inclined planes during the shifting of the sheaves. In order to accommodate the inclined planes and the shifting mechanism for the sheaves, a sufficiently. large and strong enough trolly must be provided. The heavy trolley assembly was arranged to move on top of rails supported on a twin beamed structure. The current design for unloader booms, or as they are called aprons, is of a single box-type construction with the bucket trolley being suspended from the apron. The great weight of the inclined planes and shifting mechanism would make hanging the trolley assembly from the signle apron impractical since it would require an elaborate and expensive design of the apron, which the single box-type structure has sought to avoid.

I overcome the above noted disadvantages inherent in the heretofore arrangements used in rotating bucket arrangements by providing an assembly which is simple in structure as well as being lightweight and compact. The bucket assembly of my invention is light enough and compact enough to enable it to be hung from below a single box-type apron without requiring elaborate and expensive design of the apron. More particularly I provide a bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus, such as a ship unloader, which assembly preferably comprises:

an elongated main trolley; a bucket arranged below the trolley; elongated mounting means extending laterally of the trolley and having a front side facing the trolley and a rear side facing the bucket,'with the mounting means being arranged at an acute angle with respect to the. trolley as measured from the front side; support meansfor rotatably supporting the mounting means to the trolley for selective rotation about the transverse axis thereof; first and second hold cable support means, such as sheaves, secured to opposite end portions of the mounting means; hold cables reeved over the sheaves and connected to the bucket; close sheaves supported by the trolley and close cables reeved over the sheaves and connected to the bucket; and the mounting means, the support means, and the sheaves being constructed and arranged such that when the mounting means is rotated the bucket will rotate without tilting. in its preferred form my invention relates to a direct reeved bucket assembly and further provides sheave carrying frame means for rotatably mounting the hold sheaves to the mounting means with the carrying frame means being rotatable about axes extending generally laterally to the longitudinal axis of the mounting means and with the hold cable sheaves being rotatable with respect to the frame means. The sheave carrying frame means and thus the hold cable sheaves remain in a fixed position with respect to the bucket as the mounting means is rotated. The mounting means is also preferably mounted at an angle of around 45 to the trolley while the arc of movement of the mounting means is fixed at around Other details and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a present preferred embodiment of this invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a clamshell buckettype ship unloader shown arranged on a pier in position to unload a cargo ship, and having a direct reeved bucket assembly embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the unloader looking along the line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a direct reeved bucket assembly embodying the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the bucket assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view looking along the line V-V of the bucket assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 shows a pinion and gear arrangement for driving the turning arm of the bucket assembly, as viewed along the line VI--VI of FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7-9 are generally diagrammatic perspective views of the bucket assembly of this invention showing a sequence of turns of the turning arm and the hold and close sheaves, and the rotation of the bucket with respect to the turning arm.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a clamshell bucket-type ship unloader 10 of a well-known construction including the usual vertical support structure 12 formed of interconnected struts or columns. The support structure 12 is provided with wheeled trucks l4 and 16 constructed to ride on rails 18 and 20 mounted on the top of a pier 22 to thereby enable the unloader to move along the pier for unloading a cargo ship 24. The unloader 10 is also provided with an elongated generally horizontally extending vertically pivotable box-shaped boom or apron upon which is mounted a direct reeved bucket assembly embodying the present invention.

Bucket assembly 40 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3-6, and includes an elongated main trolley 42 having a trough-shaped main frame 44 with a generally flat upper section 45 and downwardly extending sides 47 and 49. Four vertically extending arms 46 are fixed to the four corner portions of the sides 47 and 49. Wheels 48 arranged in a generally vertical plane for rotation about horizontal axes are supported at the upper region of the arms 46 and are arranged to ride on ledges 50 formed on the top surfaces of the cross-portion 52 of the apron 30 which, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, is in the form of an inverted T. Guide rollers 54 arranged in a generally horizontal plane to rotate about vertical axes are supported by arms 46 below the wheels 48 and are disposed to engage the sides of rails 56 secured to the ledges 50 of the cross-portion 52 of apron 30, as is clearly shown in FIG. 4.

The main frame 44 also supports a pair of vertically extending, horizontally spaced bumper pads 58 at the rear section thereof, the rear section being at the right or nearest the support structure 12 of the unloader 10 as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 5. The bumper pads 58 are disposed to engage spring buffers 60, one of which is shown in FIG. I mounted at the forward end of apron 30 to prevent the trolley 42 from being damaged when the trolley is inadvertently and forcefully moved forwardly along the apron. Brackets 62 are secured to the front end portion of the main frame 44 to which brackets are secured .to rack ropes 64 as shown in FIGS. 3 and l which are used for moving the trolley 42 forwardly along the apron 30. Compensating rope 66 fixed to bracket 68, shown clearly in FIGS. 3 and 5, is used to move the trolley 42 rearwardly along apron 30. The rack ropes 64 and compensating rope 66 are reeved around the usual drive drums arranged in the service shelter 70 supported on the upper section of the support structure 12 as shown in FIG. 1. Drag rollers 72 and 74 are supported at the forward and rear ends respectively of the trolley 42 with their respective horizontal axes of rotation lying generally in the plane of the upper section 45 of main frame 44. The drag rollers 72 and 74 serve to protect the main frame 44'when the trolley 40 is disposed in the rear section of the apron 30 where various cables are located in position to slide over the upper section 45 of the main frame. The drag rollers 72 and 74 bear those cables and prevent them from damaging the forward and rear edges of the main frame 44.

A support beam having a front side facing the upper section 45 of main frame 44 and a rear side facing downwardly, is supported by the main frame as by securing the support beam 80 with bolts and nuts to the sides 47 and 49, as shown in FIG. 4. The support beam 80 has its longitudinal axis extending generally transversely to the longitudinal axis of trolley 42 and is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the underside of the upper section 45 of main frame 44, the acute angle being around 45 and is measured from the front side ofthe support beam.

An elongated turning arm 82 is provided outwardlyof the rear side of support beam 80 for rotation about its transverse axis with respect to the fixed support beam. A hollow, generally cylindrically shaped drive sleeve 84 extends through a transverse central bore 85 in turning arm 82 with the sleeve 84 being fixed to the turning arm by means of a ring 86 fitted in an external circumferential groove formed in the sleeve, the ring being secured to the rear face of the turning arm by means of bolts or the like. The sleeve 84 has its longitudinal axis generally at right angles to the plane of support beam 80, and is supported by spherical roller bearing 90 arranged at an intermediate position of 'the sleeve and spherical roller thrust bearing 92 arranged at an upper position of the sleeve. The intermediate bearing 90 is positioned in a bearing housing 94 which is fixed to the underside or rear side of the support beam 80. The upper bearing 92 is received in the central opening 96 of support beam 80 having a lower radially inwardly extending flange 97. against which the lower end of the bearing abuts. The sleeve 84 extends through opening 96 to a position outside of the upper face or front side of the support beam 80. A radially outwardly extending flange 98 is formed in the upper end portion of the sleeve 84. The lower surface of the flange 98 is disposed in opening 96 and abuts the upper pinion 104 is fixed to the end'of the drive shaft of the speed reducer 102, and, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, is disposed to operatively engage a ring gear l05fixed to the upper outer portion of the flange 98 of sleeve 84. The motor 100 and speed reducer 102 are secured to the upper or front face of a support plate 106 secured to the sides 47 and 49 of the main frame 44, which support plate is inclined with respect to the upper section of the main frame and is disposed generally parallel with the support beam 80.

Identical hold sheave assemblies are supported at the opposite end portions of turning arm 82 at points generally equidistant from the transverse center of the turning arm. Each hold sheave assembly 110 includes a sheave holding frame 112 in the form of a downwardly open clevis, the frame having a shaft 114 fixed centrally to the upper face thereof. Each shaft 114 extends into an opening 116 formed through the turning arm 82 with the upper portion of the shaft being supported by a roller thrust bearing 1 18 and the lower portion of the shaft being supported by a spherical roller bearing 120. The opening 116 is suitably counterbored at each end for receiving the bearings 118 and 120, with upper and lower plates 122 and 124, respectively, being secured to the turning arm 82 to retain the bearings 118 and in place. Thus the turning arm 82 is rotatable with respect to each hold sheave assembly 110, the significance of which will be more fully shown later on in this description.

Each hold sheave assembly 110 is also provided with a hold sheave 126 disposed within the frame 112 for rotation about a pin 128 fixed to furcations of the frame 112. A roller bearing 130 is arranged between the hub of each hold sheave 126 and the support pin 128. Hold ropes 132 are reeved around hold sheaves 126, with the ends of the hold ropes being connected to diagonally opposite portions of a clamshell bucket 140, as clearly shown in FIGS. 7-9. The hold ropes 132 support the weight of the bucket and extend rearwardly along apron 30 to service shelter 70 where they are wrapped around power driven drums.

The weight of the bucket 140 is transmitted to the hold sheaves 126 by "the hold ropes 132, r and that weight serves to hold the hold sheave assemblies 110 in a generally fixed plane with respect to the bucket when the turning arm 82 is rotated. Thus, as the turning arm 82 is rotated the hold sheaves 126 will remain in vertical planes with respect to the bucket 140 as the bearings 118 and 120 rotate within the openings 116 to thereby retain the shafts 114 ha fixed orientation with respect to turning arm 82. Thus, the turning arm 82 is rotated about its transverse axis to shift the relative upper and lower positions of the hold sheave assemblies 110 while the assemblies remain in fixed orientations at all times with respect to the bucket 140.

A close sheave assembly. is arranged between the hold sheave assemblies 110 and generally centrally of turning arm 82. The assembly 150 includes an elongated pivot shaft 152 extending into sleeve 84. A spherical roller bearing 154 is arranged within a counterbore at the lower end of the sleeve 84 to rotatably engage an intermediate section of the shaft 152. Bearing 154 is secured in place by a retaining ring 156 secured as by bolts to the lower end of sleeve 84. A spherical roller bearing 158 rotatably engages the upper end of shaft 152 and is received in a counterbored section in upper region of the sleeve 84. A retainer plate 160 is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 152 to abut the upper end of bearing 158 to thereby secure the bearing 158 in place and to retain the shaft 152 within the sleeve 84.

The lower end portion of the shaft 152 is provided with a lateral opening within which is force fitted a pin 162 to extend beyond both sides of the shaft with the transverse center of the pin being coincident with the longitudinal centerline of the shaft 152. A close sheave 164 is rotatably arranged on each end portion of the pin 162 with spherical bearings 166 being disposed be- 5 tween each sheave 164 and the pin 162. Spacers 168 are interposed between the shaft 152 and the bearings 166 and retaining plates 169 secured to the opposite ends of pin 162 to secure the bearings 166 and sheaves 164 in fixed orientations. Close ropes 170 for opening and closing the bucket 140 are reeved around close sheaves 164 with the lower ends of the ropes being directly connected to the bucket 140. The close ropes 170 extend rearwardly of apron 30 into service shelter 70 where they are wrapped around power driven drums. Some weight of bucket 140 is transmitted to close sheaves 164 throughthe close ropes 170 to hold the close sheave assembly 150 in a fixed orientation with respect to the bucket 140 as the turning arm 82 is rotated. The fixed orientation of close sheave assembly 150 results from sleeve 82 rotating with respect to shaft 152 during the rotation of the turning arm 82. It should be noted, however, that the close sheave assembly 150, because it is located close to the transverse center of the turning arm 82, may be fixed with respect to the sleeve 84 to thus turn with the turning arm during its rotation. The degree of twist to the close ropes 170 during rotation of the bucket 140 would not cause any problems to the close ropes 170 or to the bucket 140.

FIGS. 7-9 show diagrammatically how the bucket assembly 40 operates to rotate the bucket 140 from an original position shown in H6. 7 to a position 90 degrees therefrom shown in FlG. 9, while the planes of the hold and close sheaves 126 and 164,respectively, remain'in fixed orientation with respect to the bucket. During rotation of the turning arm 82 the hold sheaves 126 are reversed in vertical position with the reversal being made along a path inclined at 45 to the horizontal. Thus, the lower hold sheave 126 as it moves up the inclined path will move up along its hold rope 132 thus keeping its length fixed while the upper hold sheave 126 moves down its hold rope 132 to keep its length fixed. The reversal of the hold position of sheaves 126 thereby results in a 90 rotation of the bucket 140 without its tilting.

Although the hold sheave assemblies 110 are described as being rotatable with respect to the turning arm 82, they could be arranged in a fixed orientation to the arm. The hold sheaves of a fixed arrangement could be made wide enough so that the hold ropes would be dragged over them when the turning arm 82 was rotated to the bucket 140. Hold sheave'assemblies fixed with respect to the turning arm would not be as desirable as rotating assemblies such as those described.

It should be clear now how the bucket assembly of this invention as just described provides all of the results and advantages noted in the introductory portion of this specification. The bucket assembly is compact and lightweight making it capable of being hung from the single box-type constructed apron, while it performs the'function of rotating'the bucket without tilting it. It should also be apparent that various modifications may be made to the structure of the bucket assembly without departing from its essence. For example, multirope arrangements .for supporting and opening the bucket, could be used rather than the four-rope arrangement described, double box girder aprons could be used, and the bucket assembly could be mounted on a fixed support rather than a movable trolley as described. Finally it should be apparent that the present invention, although described with respect to the direct reeved bucket assembly, also includes in-bight-of-line bucket arrangements.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim: 1. A direct reeved bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus, said assembly comprising:

an elongated main trolley; bucket means arranged below said trolley; first and second hold sheave means including hold cables directly connected to diagonally opposite end portions of the top region of said bucket means, said hold cables being reeved over the respective hold sheave means in the same direction;

elongated mounting means extending laterally of said main trolley and having a front side facing said main trolley and a rear side facing said bucket means, with said mounting means being arranged at anacute angle with respect to said main trolley as measured from said front face; support means for rotatably supporting said mounting means to said main trolley for selective rotation about the transverse axis thereof;

close sheave means supported by said main trolley and including close cables directly connected with said bucket means;

sheave carrying means for rotatably mounting said first and second hold sheave means to the opposite end portions of said mounting means, said sheave carrying means being rotatable about axes extending generally laterally to the longitudinal axis of said mounting means with said hold sheave means being rotatable with respect to said sheave carrying means; and

said mounting means, said support means, and said sheave carrying means being constructed and arranged such that when said mounting means is rotated from a first position where said first hold sheave means is disposed above said second hold' sheave means to a second position where the relative vertical position between said first and second sheave means is reversed, the-bucket means will rotate without tilting as said hold sheave means remain in substantially fixed planes with respect to the bucket means.

2. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said acute angle is around 3. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sheave carrying means are arranged to freely rotate about the axes thereof as said mounting means is rotated.

4. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support means includes drive means for rotating said mounting means.

5. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes an elongated support member mounted at an acute angle to the underside of said main trolley, and an elongated turn member disposed adjacent the front side of said support member with the longitudinal axis of said turn member being arranged generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support member; and wherein said sheave carrying means for said first and second hold sheave means are mounted at opposite ends of said turn member.

6. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 including second sheave carrying means for mounting said close sheave in-between said hold sheave means to said mounting means, said close sheave means being supported by said second sheave carrying means for rotation with respect thereto.

7. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said second sheave carrying means is rotatable about an axis extending generally laterally with respect to the longitudinal axis of said mounting means; and

said second sheave carrying means being constructed and arranged such that said close sheave means remains in a substantially fixed relationship to said bucket means as said mounting means is rotated between said first and second positions.

8. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support means supports said mounting means for rotation within a fixed arcuate distance.

9. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said acute angle is around 45; and wherein said fixed arcuate distance is around 10. A bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus, said assembly comprising:

a support structure;

bucket means arranged below said support structure;

elongated mounting means extending laterally of said support structure having a front side facing said main trolley and a rear side facing said bucket means, with said inounting means being arranged at an acute angle with respect to said support structure as measured from said front face;

support means for rotatably supporting said mountingmeans to said support structure for selective rotation about the transverse axis thereof; first and second hold cable support means secured to opposite end portions of said mounting means;

hold cables reeved over said hold cable support means in the same direction for supporting of said bucket means;

close sheave means supported by said support structure and including close cables for opening and closing said bucket means; and

said mounting means, said support means, and said hold cable support means being constructed and arranged such that when said mounting means is rotated from a first position where said first hold cable support means is disposed above said second hold cable support means to a second position where the relative vertical position between said first and second hold cable support means is reversed, the bucket means will rotate without tilting. 11. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 10 wherein said support structure includes a movable trola main trolley having mounting means for arranging the trolley on an elongated support member for longitudinal movement therealong;

bucket means arranged below said trolley;

an elongated support member mounted on the underside of said trolley with the longitudinal axis of the support member extending generally laterally to the longitudinal axis of the trolley and the plane of the support member including the longitudinal axis thereof having one side facing the main trolley and the other side facing the bucket means and being at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the trolley as measured from said one side thereof;

an elongated turn member disposed adjacent the side of said support member facing said bucket means and having the longitudinal axis thereof arranged generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support member and supported by the support member for rotation about the transverse axis thereof;

first sheave carrying frame means supported at the opposite'end portions of said turn member for rotation about axes extending generally laterally to the turn member;

hold sheave means supported by said first sheave carrying frame means for rotation about an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said turn member;

hold cables reeved around said hold sheave means in the same direction and directly connected to diagonally opposite end portions of the top region of said bucket means; second sheave carrying frame means supported by said turn member for rotation about an axis extending generally laterally to the turn member; close sheave means supported by said second sheave carrying frame means for rotation about an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said turn member; close cables reeved around said close sheave means and directly connected with said bucket means; and drive means operable with said turn member for driving the turn member about its transverse axis whereby when said turn member moves said bucket means will rotate without tilting as said hold and close sheave means are moved between an original position where one hold sheave means is above the other to another position where the latter hold sheave means is above the former and both said first and second sheave carrying frame means rotate along their transverse axes to thereby retain said hold and close sheave means in substantially fixed planes with respect to the bucket means. 15. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 13 wherein said support member supports said turn member for rotation thereof within a fixed arcuate distance. 16. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 14 wherein said acute angle is around 45; and wherein said fixed arcuate distance is around 

1. A direct reeved bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus, said assembly comprising: an elongated main trolley; bucket means arranged below said trolley; first and second hold sheave means including hold cables directly connected to diagonally opposite end portions of the top region of said bucket means, said hold cables being reeved over the respective hold sheave means in the same direction; elongated mounting means extending laterally of said main trolley and having a front side facing said main trolley and a reaR side facing said bucket means, with said mounting means being arranged at an acute angle with respect to said main trolley as measured from said front face; support means for rotatably supporting said mounting means to said main trolley for selective rotation about the transverse axis thereof; close sheave means supported by said main trolley and including close cables directly connected with said bucket means; sheave carrying means for rotatably mounting said first and second hold sheave means to the opposite end portions of said mounting means, said sheave carrying means being rotatable about axes extending generally laterally to the longitudinal axis of said mounting means with said hold sheave means being rotatable with respect to said sheave carrying means; and said mounting means, said support means, and said sheave carrying means being constructed and arranged such that when said mounting means is rotated from a first position where said first hold sheave means is disposed above said second hold sheave means to a second position where the relative vertical position between said first and second sheave means is reversed, the bucket means will rotate without tilting as said hold sheave means remain in substantially fixed planes with respect to the bucket means.
 2. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said acute angle is around 45*.
 3. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sheave carrying means are arranged to freely rotate about the axes thereof as said mounting means is rotated.
 4. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support means includes drive means for rotating said mounting means.
 5. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes an elongated support member mounted at an acute angle to the underside of said main trolley, and an elongated turn member disposed adjacent the front side of said support member with the longitudinal axis of said turn member being arranged generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support member; and wherein said sheave carrying means for said first and second hold sheave means are mounted at opposite ends of said turn member.
 6. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 including second sheave carrying means for mounting said close sheave in-between said hold sheave means to said mounting means, said close sheave means being supported by said second sheave carrying means for rotation with respect thereto.
 7. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said second sheave carrying means is rotatable about an axis extending generally laterally with respect to the longitudinal axis of said mounting means; and said second sheave carrying means being constructed and arranged such that said close sheave means remains in a substantially fixed relationship to said bucket means as said mounting means is rotated between said first and second positions.
 8. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support means supports said mounting means for rotation within a fixed arcuate distance.
 9. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said acute angle is around 45*; and wherein said fixed arcuate distance is around 90*.
 10. A bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus, said assembly comprising: a support structure; bucket means arranged below said support structure; elongated mounting means extending laterally of said support structure having a front side facing said main trolley and a rear side facing said bucket means, with said mounting means being arranged at an acute angle with respect to said support structure as measured from said front face; support means for rotatably supporting said mounting means to said support structure for selective rotation about the transverse axis thereof; first and second hold cable support means secured to opposite end portions of said mounting means; hold cables reeved Over said hold cable support means in the same direction for supporting of said bucket means; close sheave means supported by said support structure and including close cables for opening and closing said bucket means; and said mounting means, said support means, and said hold cable support means being constructed and arranged such that when said mounting means is rotated from a first position where said first hold cable support means is disposed above said second hold cable support means to a second position where the relative vertical position between said first and second hold cable support means is reversed, the bucket means will rotate without tilting.
 11. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 10 wherein said support structure includes a movable trolley.
 12. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 10 wherein said support means supports said mounting means for rotation within a fixed arcuate distance.
 13. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 11 wherein said acute angle is around 45*; and wherein said fixed arcuate distance is around 90* .
 14. A direct reeved bucket assembly for use in a material handling apparatus, said assembly comprising: a main trolley having mounting means for arranging the trolley on an elongated support member for longitudinal movement therealong; bucket means arranged below said trolley; an elongated support member mounted on the underside of said trolley with the longitudinal axis of the support member extending generally laterally to the longitudinal axis of the trolley and the plane of the support member including the longitudinal axis thereof having one side facing the main trolley and the other side facing the bucket means and being at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the trolley as measured from said one side thereof; an elongated turn member disposed adjacent the side of said support member facing said bucket means and having the longitudinal axis thereof arranged generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support member and supported by the support member for rotation about the transverse axis thereof; first sheave carrying frame means supported at the opposite end portions of said turn member for rotation about axes extending generally laterally to the turn member; hold sheave means supported by said first sheave carrying frame means for rotation about an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said turn member; hold cables reeved around said hold sheave means in the same direction and directly connected to diagonally opposite end portions of the top region of said bucket means; second sheave carrying frame means supported by said turn member for rotation about an axis extending generally laterally to the turn member; close sheave means supported by said second sheave carrying frame means for rotation about an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said turn member; close cables reeved around said close sheave means and directly connected with said bucket means; and drive means operable with said turn member for driving the turn member about its transverse axis whereby when said turn member moves said bucket means will rotate without tilting as said hold and close sheave means are moved between an original position where one hold sheave means is above the other to another position where the latter hold sheave means is above the former and both said first and second sheave carrying frame means rotate along their transverse axes to thereby retain said hold and close sheave means in substantially fixed planes with respect to the bucket means.
 15. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 13 wherein said support member supports said turn member for rotation thereof within a fixed arcuate distance.
 16. The bucket assembly as set forth in claim 14 wherein said acute angle is around 45*; and wherein said fixed arcuate distance is around 90*. 